25^th April

“He was buried, and He was raised from the dead on the third day, just as scriptures said. He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. After that, He was seen by more than 500 of His followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then He was seen by James and later by all the apostles. Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw Him..”

1 Corinthians 15:4-8

Paul, formerly known as Saul, in his earlier days, was widely known as the biggest persecutor and enemy of the church. Yet after meeting the resurrected Jesus, his life radically changed, and now we celebrate the wonder of that meeting by enjoying so much of Paul’s wonderful letters that are written in the Bible.

Paul suffered a lot, was beaten many times, stoned, persecuted himself, hated, spat at and imprisoned many times for boldly sharing the Good News of Jesus’ resurrection. Why did Paul go through all of that? Because he realised the importance of knowing Jesus, both in what He did before the cross and His resurrected life after it. Paul’s life and theology hinged around the fact that we do not serve a dead God, but a resurrected King, who loves us incredibly and wants to make His home in our hearts.

Perhaps one of Paul’s most challenging and famous verses are found in the same chapter that today’s verse in taken from, in verses 14 & 17. Paul addresses the church in Corinth, convinced by Christ’s resurrection with these direct and heart piercing words.

“And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless…and if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins.”

Friends, Paul’s life radically changed after meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus. He was convinced that seeing Jesus’ resurrection was paramount to his faith, and to ours, readers of these words. Have you seen the resurrected King? Live in His resurrection power. Receive the blessings of His victorious ascension. You are created to live in His resurrection promise.